{Assessment Validation Guide for the Training Providers in Australia's training sector -

{Assessment Validation Guide for the Training Providers in Australia's training sector -

Blog Article

Intro to Assessment Validation

RTOs handle various obligations after becoming registered, such as annual declarations, AVETMISS compliance, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, assessment validation is notably challenging. While validation has been reviewed in several articles, a review of the basics is necessary. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) describes validation of assessments as a quality review of the evaluation process.

Principally, validation of assessments is focused on identifying which parts of an RTO’s evaluation process are effective and which need improvement. With a proper grasp of its key aspects, validation becomes less daunting. According to Clause 1.8 of the 2015 Standards for RTOs, RTOs must ensure their assessment systems, including RPL, meet the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

The regulations mandate two forms of validation. The first type of validation of assessments guarantees adherence to the training package assessment requirements within your RTO's scope. The second validation guarantees that assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This indicates that we perform validation pre- and post-assessment. This article will focus on the primary type—assessment tool validation.

The Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, is related to the primary part of the clause, aimed at compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the conduct, guaranteeing that RTO assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Methods for Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

The aim of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all aspects, performance criteria, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you obtain new learning resources, you must perform validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Review new materials right away to verify they are appropriate for students.

Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to conduct this type of validation. Conduct validation of assessment tools also when you:

- Modify your resources
- Add new qualifications to scope
- Audit your course with training product updates
- Identify your learning resources as a risk during your risk assessment

ASQA uses a risk-based approach for regulating RTOs and requires regular risk assessments. Therefore, student complaints about learning resources are an ideal time to conduct assessment tool validation.

Which Training Products Should You Validate?

Note that this validation ensures conformity of all training materials before use. All RTOs must validate resources for each subject unit.

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:

- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment items meet unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also ensure if guidelines for evaluators are sufficient and if clear standards for each assessment task are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, evaluation registers, and evaluation templates designed separately from the student workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment activity and meet subject requirements.

Panel for Validation

Standard 1.11 specifies the requirements for panel members. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually mandate all educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including sector experts.

Collectively, your validation panel must have:

- Workplace Competencies and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.

Principles of Assessment

- Fairness: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Flexibility: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Reliability: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?

Rules of Evidence

- Validity: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate Assessment validation tools has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- Sufficiency: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Relevance: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?

Important Factors in Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the verbs in the unit specifications and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance criteria asks students to:

- Perform diaper changes
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development

Frequent Errors

Asking students to describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old does not meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit specification is meant to assess theoretical understanding (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be doing the tasks.

Be Careful with Plurals!

Pay attention to the frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers requires the students to complete the tasks at least once on two different babies under 12 months of age. Having students complete the tasks listed twice on just one baby won’t cut it.

Full Competence or Not Competent

Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s not compliant. Each assessment item must meet all requirements, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment method is non-compliant.

Be Specific!

Each assessment task must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not confuse students or trainers.

Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them

Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for assessors to accurately assess student competence.

Assurance During Audits

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don’t learning resource developers offer audit guarantees?” However, with these guarantees, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.

By following these instructions and understanding the Principles of Assessment and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment tools are valid with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.